CrofAI, advertised as the cheapest inference provider, was exposed as an OpenRouter wrapper that rerouted requests to smaller models while applying markups of up to 20×. The operator faced wire‑fraud allegations, first denying them, then backtracking, and finally erasing the entire online service within three hours. This incident serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of pursuing ultra‑low token prices without verifying the authenticity of the provider.